Container assemblies consisting of a lid and base portion for storing foods, are capable of being sealed to prevent leakage and spoilage. These containers require certain desirable features, most importantly, the ability to stop the flow of foods out of the container area and to prevent the introduction of bacteria and air into the container. Moreover, the container's lid and base should be easily assembled and disassembled for usage, so that the seals can be broken and resealed with minimal effort. A sealed container should also be stackable inside itself, in order to require a minimal storage space.
Although container assemblies having only one or two seals give acceptable results, food leakage can occur when one or both seals are broken. Typical double seal containers provide two identical seals, one interior to the other. The seals have small surface areas to prevent the flow of food, liquids and/or air. Disadvantageously, small surface areas can result in occasional failure. From a probability standpoint, if a single seal fails once every one-hundred times, the odds of two seals failing at once falls to one in ten-thousand. This is an unacceptable number of failures given the large number of containers in use.
Moreover, the potential hazards from spoilage and leakage of tainted foods are a great concern in both the food industry and at home. For example, the food can leak entirely from the container or be trapped between seals, potentially being exposed to contaminants and bacterium inducing spoilage or health hazards. A container which could provide both protection from outside bacterial contamination, and prevent leakage from food products inside the container would be greatly desired, be cost-effective, and be safer to use.